Pashinyan ally urges public to report alleged vote-buying ahead of elections

An ally of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has called on citizens to report alleged vote-buying attempts by the opposition ahead of upcoming elections, urging that those involved face lengthy prison sentences.

Vice Speaker of Parliament Ruben Rubinyan urged the public to inform him of any attempts by the opposition—led by former president Robert Kocharyan, businessman Gagik Tsarukyan, and Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan—to bribe voters, Caliber.Az reports, citing Armenian media.

“If the associates of Kocharyan, Tsarukyan, or the Kaluga man (Samvel Karapetyan) offer you an election bribe, or if you learn that someone has been given such a bribe, or if you have any information about such actions, then write to me and I will pass this information on completely anonymously, without disclosing any of your data, to law enforcement agencies, and they will deal with these scoundrels,” Rubinyan said.

“You can write to me on Facebook, Instagram or TikTok, I guarantee anonymity. It is very important that we prevent such crimes and do not allow oligarchs and the ‘party of war’ to steal our elections. All scoundrels who give bribes must spend long and unhappy years in prison,” he added.

By Vafa Guliyeva